Tennis news: Gael Monfils and Jessica Pegula

It is Leap Day 2024. Since leap year happens only once every four years, it is a good opportunity to celebrate one of the greatest tennis leapers and athletes ever to play the game, 37-year-old French tennis player Gael Monfils. If you need more proof that Monfils is an expert leaper, you must Google "Gael Monfils leaper," and many articles, images, and videos will appear.

Tennis TV commemorated the day by creating a video montage of some of Monfils' superhuman leaps in pursuit of a tennis ball. Prepare to be enchanted and amazed as you watch.

With all of the talk of real-life tennis couples playing together on the court, as Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas plan to at next week's Indian Wells Eisenhower Cup exhibition, when will we see Monfils and his wife Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina play mixed doubles together? I am beckoning the tennis gods to make this happen sometime in 2024.

Jessica Pegula returns to her winning ways

Fans were anxious to see Jessica Pegula back on the court. She has been missed. Her schedule has been unusually light in 2024 since she opted out of the Middle Eastern swing while dealing with an injury. During that time, she also split from longtime coach David Witt.

Pegula, who turned 30 on February 24, won both her opening matches in singles and doubles so it has been a happy return. She was pleased to usher in her "dirty 30s" with wins. Her coaching arrangement is described as a collaboration between Mark Merklein and Mark Knowles. Neither of the Marks can travel with her full-time. In her first tournament without Witt, Merklein is in her box in San Diego. Hopefully, the new voices on her team allow her to flourish in 2024.

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